Here is a photo taken at the top of the Big Everidge Hollow watershed.
Laboratory of Environmental Ecology
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Lilley Cornett Woods is a research natural area on the Cumberland Plateau in (extreme) southeastern Kentucky, that contains some outstanding examples of old-growth mixed mesophytic forest. These photos are from Big Everidge Hollow- a very well-studied old-growth watershed.
Here is a photo taken at the top of the Big Everidge Hollow watershed.
This picture shows several key characteristics of mixed mesophytic forest: steep slopes, diverse age structure of standing trees, lots of litter and coarse woody debris on the ground.
Here you are looking straight up on a midslope in this old-growth forest. That is one BIG canopy-gap, which is an important feature of old-growth forests. Note that in these gaps, particularly on north facing mid slopes, the herbaceous vegetation is incredibly lush.
Here is a photo from the bottom of the Big Everidge Hollow watershed. This portion of the watershed is dominated by beech (Fagus) and hemlock (Tsuga). There is a stream, down a steep slope, just on the far side of the large hemlock in the foreground.
Here is an enormous hemlock in Big Everidge Hollow. This photo does not do it justice. It is at least 25 meters tall, probably a lot more. A distinct feature of this old-growth watershed is the presence of these giants on the lower slopes. Unfortunately, the arrival of the hemlock wooly adelgid could mean disaster for this species.
